Money from the state may help fast track the beautification of Main Street in Coalville.
“We’ve talked about this Main Street thing until we’re blue in the face,” Coalville Mayor Duane Schmidt said.
But the city didn’t expect to receive money to fix the street from the Utah Department of Transportation until 2013, Schmidt said.
“We leveraged a lot of federal, state and Community Development Block Grant money to make this happen,” Schmidt said in a telephone interview. “We got a UDOT grant and we anticipate design and planning to start this month Construction will start spring of next year.”
Thirty percent of the aging sidewalks downtown will be replaced, Schmidt said
.
“It’s no longer a concept, it’s no longer a dream, it’s reality,” Schmidt said, adding that the project includes new asphalt and park benches. “I think, to equate it to what has taken place over on Midway’s Main Street, ours will be very similar.”
Officials could spend $3.5 million rebuilding Main Street, Schmidt said.
“That’s a huge chunk of money,” he said. “It’s been a huge project and everybody has worked hard for it. It’s just going to be a fantastic thing for the county seat.”
The improvements will occur between Chalk Creek Road and 150 South, Schmidt said.
“Those who know how treacherous those curbs can be, between getting their car stuck in the irrigation-style gutter or tripping, it’s going to be a big improvement for the citizens,” Schmidt said.
More “ornamental” lampposts and trees are also part of the plan, he said.
“The whole thing is going to look fresh and clean,” Schmidt said. “Those deep curbs are trash collectors.”